Following a lengthy ban, the Catholic Church has resumed the “Kiss of Peace” custom. The CBCN, or Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, has ordered its churches to resume the liturgical custom of handshakes, often known as “Kiss of Peace,” which had been put on hold months earlier.
After the World Health Organization, WHO, declared the COVID-19 pandemic a global health emergency, the practice was subsequently put on hold.
In a message headed “Kiss of Peace,” Rev Fr. Cosmas Uzoigwe, Personal Assistant to the CBCN President, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, announced the lifting of the suspension over the weekend.
It claimed that during the proceedings of the just finished second plenary meeting of the CBCN held in Imo State, the church’s officials decided to remove the suspension.
The following was said in the memo: “Most Rev. Ugorji has commanded that the customary handshake (Kiss of Peace) during Eucharistic celebration and other occasions in the liturgical celebrations of the Church shall return and come back to life.
Following the procedures of the recently finished second plenary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, held at Orlu, the decision was made to begin the liturgical gesture of shaking hands.
